[CH] Chile beer redux
Jonathan T. Smillie (jsmillie@protix.com)
Wed, 25 Feb 1998 13:34:15 -0600
Friends, Chile-Heads, etcetera:
I'm bringing up what I hope is a new twist on a question
I know the list has seen already: basically, the adding of
chiles or chile derivatives to home-brewed beer.
A friend of mine who brews his own stout on a regular
basis has evinced interest in making a chile-augmented
batch. I've seen several posts on this topic here, but none
recently, and a random sampling of the archives hasn't
turned up any advice (haven't had time to go through the
entire archive, so I know there's something there, but I
can't find it yet...)
The posts I recall seeing all reported (to the best of this feeble
thing I call my memory) indifferent to bad results when using
fresh chiles- usually oversteeping them or adding at the wrong
time. My question is: what about using chile powders or flakes
to add spice to a beer? What sort of proportions would be
necessary (assuming about a 5-gallon batch of the beer itself)?
Obviously, the amount to add would vary according to what type
of powdered or flaked chile was being used, and the desired
end-result heat level- I'm just looking for some general guidelines.
At the moment I have on hand a significant quantity ( in excess of 1/2
lb) habanero powder, plus sufficient dried chipotles, cayennes and
Thais to produce a fair amount of any of these, powdered, on
short notice.
Any advice/ideas/warnings?
Thanks in advance
Jonathan
***************
<bold>Conservative</bold>, <italic>n.</italic> A statesman who is
enamored of existing
evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to
replace them with others.
- Ambrose Bierce, <italic>The Devil's Dictionary</italic>